Top Five Not Nominated: Best Picture
Wait, what? As a part of my newest series "Top Five Not Nominated", I'm naming the top snubs of the Best Pictures category for the Academy Awards. They apparently thought these films didn't make the cut, but compared to the competition they really should've. Although these pictures may not deserve that golden title, but they should've been given the nomination. Number 5: Full Metal Jacket (1987) Granted, given various aspects of the film, it's not a shock it wasn't nominated; but that doesn't mean it should've been left out. One of Kubrick's best works, Full Metal Jacket tells the gritty effects war- especially the one in Vietnam- have on people. Filled with violence, one of the most memorable movie suicides ever captured on film, and a stellar performance from ex-Marine R. Lee Ermey, this movie is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, meant for the true critics that can look at a film and see the psychological turmoil each soldier faces. Nobody thought it would win; Everyone thought it should. Number 4: The Dark Knight (2008) While Christopher Nolan has stated himself that Bryan Singer's original X-Men may've kickstarted the idea, but Nolan's very own The Dark Knight completely and totally redefined the modern superhero genre. Where once corny plots, spandex, and campy villains once were have been replaced with a gritty storyline, all-star castings, and an anarchist criminal mastermind. This movie will be cemented as one of the best movies of the 2000 decade, easily the best superhero movie ever, and perhaps one of the greatest movies of all time. The Dark Knight gives us an adaption that is both worthy of the source material but original in it's own right. This unique branch of creativity is also aided by a superb cast, on-the-spot directing, and a wonderfully sadistc plot. How the Academy couldn't even mention this masterpiece of a superhero movie makes us wonder; Why so serious? Number 3: Psycho (1960) Some films get to rewrite a genre; This movie completely created one. One of the first of the slasher genre, Alred Hitchcock's Psyco got a total of four nominations, but won none. Pioneering onscreen violence and nudity, Hitchcock's masterpiece is an incredible piece of art. There are few scenes as iconic or powerful as the shower scene, but to downplay the rest of it is a big mistake. This movie divided critics, and it shows because of it's lack of the Best Picture nomination ,but this film's box office success combined by Hitchcock's masterful directing and Perkins' performance make it an iconic film of all time. Not only a great movie on it's own, but Psycho changed the norms of what could be accepted by an audience in terms of sexuality and violence. Plus, with one of the most shocking endings of all time, this movie essentially set the tone for thrillers from that point to today. Number 2: Reservoir Dogs (1992) A masterful directorial debut by Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs is the gritty telling of a robbery gone horribly wrong. Featuring an all-star cast such as Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, and Harvey Keitel, Tarantino created one of the most highly praised films of the 1990's on a shoestring budget. Set aside the stylized violence, which the Academy is against for some fucked up reason, and you have a movie worthy of becoming a legend. Reservoir Dogs set the tone for stylized violence on film, groovy soundtracks, modern pop culture references, nonlinear plotlines, and several other Tarantino tropes that several attempt but none repeat. Honorable Mentions *''Gran Torino'' (2008) *''Being John Malkovich (1999) *''Unbreakable ''(2000) *''Nightcrawler (2014) *''Foxcatcher'' (2014) *''Rebel Without A Cause'' (1955) *''Vertigo'' (1958) *''Sparatcus'' (1960) *''Fight Club'' (1999) *''American History X'' (1998) *''The Usual Suspects (1995) *''Se7en ''(1995) *''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Number 1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) To this day, everybody wonders what the hell happened. Comparing 2001: A Space Odyssey to the nominations of that year, especially the one that won, shows just how prone the Academy is to mistakes. Movies like Funny Girl and Oliver!, the latter being the winner, get thrown into forgotten film lists, while Romeo and Juliet doesn't even come close to stacking up against this cinema classic. The fact that this movie, which is perhaps Stanley Kubrick's greatest movie, didn't get a nomination for anything is highway robbery. Some movies, there's controversy if there should've been the nomination, but with this classic adventure about survival, technology, and the questioning of man playing God, there isn't a contest. 2001: A Space Odyssey made a pioneering mark in terms of sci-fi and survival flicks, along with giving us one of the most memorable sci-fi villains of all time. The fact that this movie titan wasn't nominated, when it should've won, is mind-bending.